Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul Wins 2016 Hitachi Ladies Open

[bangkokbobby]

a few more pics on my blog: Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul Wins 2016 Hitachi Ladies Open (TLPGA)

Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul


I’ve been looking forward to following the wave of Thai players on the LPGA in 2016. But why wait for the stateside tour to start? The LPGA of Taiwan (TLPGA) rang in the new year with the 2016 Hitachi Ladies Open. Taking top honors was 16-year old Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul. To make things easier for anybody reading this, she goes by the nickname Mind. It was Mind over matter as she shot a 54-hole 10-under to win by 3 shots over Ssu-Chia Cheng and LPGA pro Pornanong Phatlum. Mind turned pro at 14 and is considered an up and coming Thai phenom. In 2014 she played the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia as a 15-year old, finishing a respectable T36 with a 2-under score. It will be a little while before she tries LPGA Q-school, but in the meantime I will watch her progress with much interest.

1 KANPHANITNAN MUANGKHUMSAKUL -10

[bangkokbobby]

Here is a video of final round highlights. Mind is on at 1:48 into the video...even her swing looks different...more powerful...than the other players in this tournament, even LPGA pro Pornanong Phatlum...but I will defer to anybody in the forum who knows a lot more about swing mechanics than I do. Also, at the 2:00 mark she gives her acceptance speech in English. Clearly, English is not her first language but I like that at 16-years old she is already giving short speeches without a translator. Mind is very clear that when she is old enough she wants to come play on the LPGA. If she turns out to be as good as people say she is, practicing her English now is a good move.